For anyone going to the NC State Fair ... there is a free iPhone app available on itunes at the following link:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/north-carolina-state-fair/id392530958?mt=8

Also available on the Android Marketplace

[Edited on October 14, 2010 at 4:45 PM. Reason : .]

10/14/2010 4:34:04 PM

cool that it's free

didn't they charge for it last year?

10/14/2010 4:47:43 PM

I charged for it last year (but it had more than just NC - Texas/Arizona) ... It was just the generic "StateFairApp" last year.

I built off the same app, and made a custom version for them, which they paid me for, so they could then distribute it for free.

10/14/2010 4:49:30 PM

nice work

get that $$$

10/14/2010 5:57:09 PM

Nice!

10/14/2010 11:19:15 PM

This app is A++ would download again.

10/15/2010 12:45:43 PM

nice work, very rad

10/15/2010 9:18:35 PM

i tried really hard to use it, but the search function didn't seem to work at all. the map was nice though.

10/15/2010 9:30:28 PM

what kind of phone do you have?

On droid, you have to put in the search string, and then hit the little search icon beside the search box.
Its a little less than obvious, but still should be able to figure it out.

10/16/2010 12:21:45 PM

iPhone 3GS running 4.whateverismostcurrent

10/16/2010 2:15:26 PM

4.whatever tanked my iphone and i had to dial it back a version... i've noticed it doesn't run a lot of things as well as it used to... heck, taking a picture takes forever now

it's time for me to buy a new one anyways... i've had this one for over 2 years

10/16/2010 5:48:38 PM

^^ So, on my iphone4 it works fine...

Keep in mind that expected behavior is that if you search for something that there is no match for, then NO Markers show up on the screen ... and if you search for something that IS there, then you should see markers show up on the screen. It is not supposed to show you search results in a list.

For example, search for "oreo" ... and you should see 3 different markers for the vendors that have "oreo" in their menu somewhere. If you dont mind, I would like to hear if you do or do not see this behavior, so that I can investigate more. Also, make sure you are zoomed out enough to see the results, as it does not auto zoom if the marker is not in your current viewing area.

10/16/2010 8:30:39 PM

need all ATM locations and branches, it only shows 3 and only info for one.

roll into google maps and allow your current location to be shown

[Edited on October 16, 2010 at 9:32 PM. Reason : .]

10/16/2010 9:30:53 PM

If you are at the fair, and looking at the map view ... you will see your location marked by that magic "blue dot", just like in the maps app.

As for the actual ATM locations ... the NC State Fair manages all the actual location information ... I just built the app to show their information, and a management tool for them to enter the data in. I can pass the request along though to see if there are more ATM locations ... I assume they are generic ATM machines, not specific to any Branch/Bank Institution.

10/16/2010 10:02:31 PM

i downloaded it when i went yesterday. search function never worked. and it would be nice to have a list of all the rides/food/events rather than just pins.

or maybe there is a list function, i just couldnt find it.

not a bad app, but not the most user friendly, i still had to ask information where places were. it was a bit faster than trying to hit all the pins and read.

10/17/2010 2:31:49 PM

ah, I never saw the location dot...

^were you at the fair when trying to use it? the local towers get overloaded and thus your service sucks (slow or just non-existant).

10/17/2010 2:53:31 PM

Quote :

"Keep in mind that expected behavior is that if you search for something that there is no match for, then NO Markers show up on the screen ... and if you search for something that IS there, then you should see markers show up on the screen. It is not supposed to show you search results in a list."

Just a UX tip - user will never know that, especially not on the iOS platform.


the search pattern is this:


click "search"

be presented with a field to type search query into

hit enter or go or search or whatever

see a return value of items matching their search -or- be presented with something that says "No results found," via a modal window or a results list view





That's the established use for every single proper implementation of search throughout the interface. Not following that specific pattern leads to an incongruent expectation to what has been implemented - the user thinks that the app is broken, ex:

Quote :

"i tried really hard to use it, but the search function didn't seem to work at all. the map was nice though."

Not blasting you, just letting you know. The users don't know what you've got in mind when you leave out things like that. It's why Apple has a set of clearly defined and brilliantly strong interaction patterns.

10/17/2010 3:12:59 PM

^^ Once the app launches, the data is stored locally on the app, and so the cell service does not matter when you are searching.

^Thanks for the tip ... ill get that changed for next year. Definitely not a UI/UX pro, or even decent at it for that matter ... appreciate the feedback.

[Edited on October 17, 2010 at 3:31 PM. Reason : .]

10/17/2010 3:30:36 PM

I tried using it while at the fair and it totally shat the bed. The only way I could get pins to come up is if I searched for something like "funnel cakes." I suspect it had more to do with the sheer number of people using the network at the same time at the Fair than the app though

10/19/2010 8:53:45 PM

actually no ... the match is simply a string match ... so, if you type in funnel, then anything with the *funnel* string in the title or description would show up on the map ... at that point, you wouldnt need to use the network because all the info is already loaded into your app ... so its not searching via an internet connection.

Again ^^ something to fix from a usability standpoint for next year ... but as long as you do not misspell anything (and try searching based on small words, not long phrases) then it works well ... funnel/oreo/wheel return funnel cake vendors, deep fried oreo vendors, and farris wheel locations, respectively.

10/19/2010 9:35:17 PM

it worked well for me last night. was using an iphone4 fwiw. good app!

10/20/2010 5:25:29 PM

the comments wouldn't scroll on the Android Market, then i realized that there must only be 5 fair-goers that cared to comment total

10/20/2010 6:01:47 PM

^^^ Hmm, that's weird then because if you tried to get all the pins to show up for say the food section, it would just be blank. It wouldn't be until I was nowhere near the fairgrounds that it would work the way it was supposed to.

10/21/2010 9:51:28 AM

who do we complain to if something doesn't show up? My business I work for (and have slight ownership interest in) isnt on there.

I know you said you take from a list, not sure if its on there or not, but weve been there at least 5 years probably longer that I know of.

Otherwise a bit slow loading, froze a few times on my android but not a bad product.

10/21/2010 4:41:23 PM

So, you guys are a food vendor there? Where are you located, what do you sell ... etc

10/22/2010 9:05:32 AM

PM Sent

10/24/2010 10:31:41 AM

here's my pics!!!

the fried oreos were delicious!

10/24/2010 1:21:09 PM

2nd one's a great pic of you!

10/24/2010 2:31:58 PM